State Sen. Lena Taylor said Tuesday that she will run for Milwaukee County executive in spring, pledging "to restore balance, integrity and fiscal accountability."

The Milwaukee Democrat said voters are ready for a change in the county, where incumbent Scott Walker has held the top job for more than five years since he was swept in on the heels of the county pension scandal. Taylor, 41, provided few details on what changes she might pursue if elected.

Walker is widely expected to seek re-election.

In a prepared statement, Taylor said Walker had "betrayed" his initial campaign promises to clean up the pension scandal. She said a Journal Sentinel investigation had convinced her more needs to be done on pensions.

A July investigation by the newspaper found that some employees had boosted their pensions by buying service credit based on short stints worked years or even decades earlier. The benefit could eventually cost the county $50 million and was never formally created by the County Board, the paper found.

The county has ordered an in-house investigation, and Walker has said he thinks some of the transactions might have been criminal.

Walker declined to comment on Taylor's candidacy, but his campaign newsletter last month blasted Taylor as someone who "would be terrible for economic development and jobs."

The Sept. 18 newsletter said Taylor gets low marks from business advocacy groups and said she was "a champion" for Senate Democrats' mandatory health insurance plan that would have been paid through a $15.2 billion payroll tax.

Taylor's statement says she would work to improve state funding for Milwaukee County parks and transit.

Although the office of county executive is non-partisan, a Walker-Taylor matchup would feature candidates with partisan pedigrees.

Taylor, an attorney, has been a Democratic state lawmaker since 2003 and is vice chairwoman of the state party.

Walker was a Republican state Assembly member before his election as county executive, served as co-chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign in Wisconsin in 2004 and ran an abortive Republican campaign for governor.

Walker has to be considered the favorite going into the race because of his status as an incumbent and his substantial campaign war chest, said Mordecai Lee, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor of government affairs and former Democratic state legislator. But Taylor is a formidable campaigner, Lee said.

Walker has a huge early cash advantage over Taylor. Figures filed at midyear showed Walker with $414,572 in his campaign account; Taylor had $21,414.

Taylor said she'll need about $1 million to run successfully against Walker. He won four years ago after spending about $618,000.

A Milwaukee native, Taylor formerly worked in the state public defender's office.

Computer consultant Joe Klein, who finished third in the 2004 primary, has said he will run again. That would mean a February primary; the general election is April 1.

Greg J. Borowski of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.